Helping people to improve their financial situation by living greener, more sustainable lives is one of my goals. To further that goal I have worked on creating a green living plan that will help you save thousands of dollars every year as you create a greener and healthier life. The details are available in a new EBook entitled “Build Wealth by Going Green,” and I’m grateful to Arbor Builders just published a nice book review.

I hope you’ll take a look and consider my new book. I honestly believe you can put an extra $2000 per year or more in your bank account every year by following just some of the green, money-saving ideas, and maybe even be entertained as you read about them.

When you think about the variety of products in the world that are good for the environment, tires are probably not at the top of your list. This is understandable; after all, the objects we need to get our cars from point A to point B don’t exactly exude an Earth-friendly vibe. In addition, you may have seen photos of piles of tires in landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency says our country has generated almost 300 million scrap tires, a quarter of which end up in the dump.

Fortunately, tire manufacturers have made some major strides in improving tires and making them more eco-friendly. Tires that are figuratively more green than black can be explained by one or more of the three Rs: recycling, raw materials and rolling resistance. To understand what these terms mean in relation to tires, let’s take a closer look at each one:

Recycling

As pointed out earlier, about 25 percent of old tires end up in the landfill. This means that 75 percent of them are recycled. Scrap tires can be used for ground rubber applications to create quieter roadways. They can also be recycled to create fuel. As a bonus, tire companies are busy working on a devulcanizing process that will take the cured rubber and allow even more of it to be recycled.

Raw Materials

While tires have traditionally been made from materials that don’t scream “Earth friendly,” companies are hard at work creating synthetic rubber that is made from plant materials instead of petroleum products. The Russian dandelion and Guayule plants have both been found to possess many similar qualities to rubber. As a bonus, they are both sustainable resources that can be grown right here in the United States, which will reduce our need to bring in rubber from other countries. In addition to an alternative type of rubber, the reinforcing fibers that are found in tires, as well as different compounding substances and carbon black have also been identified as products that can become more environmentally safe. Other tire companies are looking at ways to take waste from the agricultural industry and transform it into synthetic rubber.

Rolling Resistance

Rolling resistance relates to the amount of energy the tires use while the vehicle is moving. In some cases, a car can use anywhere from 5 to 15 percent of its fuel to keep the tires rolling along. In order to improve gas mileage, some tire companies are creating tires with lower rolling resistance; as a bonus, this can also help to reduce emissions. By using less gasoline and emitting less CO2 into the air, tires with lower rolling resistance are definitely better for the environment. While many major tire companies offer tires with low rolling resistance (LRR), there is not a standard rating system for this feature. As a result, if you are in the market for eco-friendly tires, you should take some time and do a little research ahead of time to be sure the brand you are buying offers LRR. Continental makes a great eco-friendly tire called ProContact ECOPlus; the tire offers lower rolling resistance with Tg-F polymers, which in turn boost fuel efficiency and lower emissions.

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